In casting operations for billets, blooms, and slabs, it is known that the workpiece extending from the casting plant must be cut into more manageable workpieces that are of a given length. Among the equipment for cutting the workpieces are oxygen-cutting burners that include oxygen-cutting nozzles. During the cutting operation with an oxygen-cutting burner, a burr typically is formed at the lower end of the workpieces in the vicinity of the cut. Such burrs are preferably removed from the workpieces prior to subsequent handling.
It is also known that the casting operation takes place in a harsh environment having elevated temperatures. It is thus desired to provide a cutting machine for cutting billets, blooms, and slabs that is operable in the typical harsh environment and that may include the capability of removing burrs from cut workpieces.